Revisit ODI World Cup 1992: Know what had actually gone wrong for Indian cricket team

After reaching the semis of the 1987 World Cup, India came with a reputation of having a side with the spark to do well in the Benson & Hedges World Cup in 1992 which was hosted by Australia and New Zealand. The Indian team did go with a strong squad which had the likes of Sachin Tendulkar and Vinod Kambli in their arsenal. After scoring big in domestic cricket, both Tendulkar and Kambli had the talent and potential to excel on the world stage. This was the first time when players were seen in colour clothing jerseys in international cricket.

Led by Mohammed Azharuddin, India did not have a good start as they lost their first match to England by 9 runs in Perth while the second game against Sri Lanka was washed out. The Indian team was under immense pressure to lift themselves from this precarious position which they were in. 

The next match against Australia did not do any good to India as they again lost by 1 run and they were on the brink of an early exit. The new rain rule introduced during that World Cup played a pivotal role in India’s loss.

What is Rain Rule System?

The idea behind the rule was to avoid the old system - work out the runs-per-over of the first innings and then deduct that for each over lost by the side batting second - which heavily disadvantaged the side batting first.

Staring at an early exit, an all-round performance helped India register their first win in the WC against Pakistan in Sydney to keep their hopes alive in the tournament. After that morale-boosting win, a fire of belief ignited in the Indian camp as they won comfortably against Zimbabwe in their next match in Hamilton. But the dream soon started fading following their humiliating loss against West Indies and New Zealand ensured their World Cup campaign ended in a big disappointment.

The idea of dropping Ravi Shastri in the game against New Zealand turned out to be a big mistake by India as the wicket in those conditions was conducive to spin and the left-handed all-rounder would have been handy in that match. "I can't pinpoint what the problem really is. We either lack ambition or the drive to win. We seemed to have already lost the game in our minds," Abbas Ali Baig, the team manager had said after their exit from the World Cup.

Reasons behind India’s Early Exit

Batting collapsed, shoddy bowling and fielding, and constant changing of squads were believed to be the main reasons behind India’s exit from the tournament as they lacked intent and aggression on the field. People started discussing what went wrong and what India should possibly look to other teams like Australia who spend hours of time watching video clips of their opponents. 

"We pushed the panic button too quickly and kept reshuffling the batting order. That saw our batting remain unsettled throughout the tournament," said former Indian Captain, Ajit Wadekar.

The overall impression the team gave was that of "a bunch of amateurs in a game that has become highly professionalised. "Among the many things that the team needs is a psychiatrist who can motivate them to play and to win,’’ Tiger Ali Khan Pataudi had then said.

In the final of the Benson & Hedges World Cup in 1992, Pakistan beat England to clinch the World Cup for the first time.